Re: on behalf of a researcher

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

My contact with this term has been almost entirely through people in recovery 
communities/therapy settings. It is used to convey the sense that whatever it 
is, it has to be accepted. 

A: No matter what I do, I still regret having injured to dog when I was 
drunk.
B: Well, it is what it is. You've done all that you can for the dog. It can 
walk again, even if it has trouble running. You have to move on.

In a message dated 2/17/06 3:25:50 AM, laurence.horn at YALE.EDU writes:


> At 2:37 PM -0800 2/16/06, Arnold M. Zwicky wrote:
> >this is posted on behalf of Aaron Britt, who is now doing the
> >research and reporting for William Safire.  i've given him a
> >moderately lame response.  maybe some of you can do better.  please
> >copy your response to him at: aarondbritt at gmail.com.
> >
> >-----
> >There is a phrase that has been in the news lately- Scott McClellan
> >and Britney Spears have both used it in the last couple weeks and I
> >wonder if you can tell me more about it.  The phrase is: It is what
> >it is.
> >
> >What precisely does this mean?  How does this phrase function in
> >conversation?  It seems to suggest that there's no more to say, or is
> >this a ruse to try to shut down conversation?  When someone utters
> >this phrase what are they trying to convey?  Can you think of other
> >phrases that convey the same thing, or nearly the same thing?  Some
> >that come to mind are 'What's done is done' or 'It speaks for itself.'
> 

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